Embracing capitalist symbols and lively nightlife

Fast food restaurants, French art-deco buildings, casinos, nightclubs and bars crowded almost every night, the boat restaurants on the Mekong river and beautiful Vietnamese girls make Ho Chi Minh City's nightlife romantic and entertaining.

It's safe for foreign tourists, mostly from European countries and the United States, to walk in the streets at 2 a.m. in the city known as Saigon for almost 300 years.

After North Vietnam won the Vietnam war in 1975, the city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, in honor of the country's revolutionary leading. Under the communist-socialist government, Ho Chi Minh was maintained as a trading city with a liberal capitalist system.

According to an official from the Indonesian Embassy in the capital Hanoi, some investors who previously focused on Indonesia have now relocated to the more attractive climes of Vietnam.

"They are interested to invest here because of security, the labor situation and regulations here," the official, who declined to be identified, told The Jakarta Post recently.

Investment regulations allow investors to secure a land use permit for 50 years, which could be extended for a similar period, he said.

In Indonesia, the land use permit for a foreign investor is only for 30 years and could only be extended for 20 years.

"The security here attracts investors. There are no labor demonstrations here," he added.

Labor is also cheaper; he revealed the minimum wage in Vietnam reached an average of Rp 15,000 a day (US$2), while in Indonesia it averaged Rp 20,000 per day.

For foreign tourists, including the visiting Indonesian delegation consisting of representatives from the media and travel businesses, security is the most attractive draw of the former Saigon.

There is nothing to fear in leaving a bar at 3 a.m. and strolling through the Dhong Khoi area in Central Ho Chi Minh City.

You will not be alone as many teenage couples spend their nights sitting on their motorcycles in public parks or by the Mekong River.

The mighty Mekong and its boat restaurants are designed for tourist destination. While sampling delicious local cuisine as the boat passes along the river, the tourists are entertained with traditional music and songs.

There are currently several five-star hotels in Saigon, including New World Hotel where our group stayed, and most of them have casinos on site for tourists to try their luck at slot machines and roulettes tables.

An Indonesian businessman who reportedly operates many gambling dens in Jakarta is also said to have a casino here.

Besides star-rated hotels, several small but good standard hotels are available for an average rate of 150,000 Vietnam dong (US$10) per night.

Indonesians interested in seeing the sights of this corner of Southeast Asia or trying their hand at the gambling tables may consider the option of taking Garuda, sponsor of our trip, now flying three times a week for a roundtrip fare of $400.

-- A. Junaidi